


Tangled

by StreetSoldierin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, M/M, One Shot, Red String of Fate, Soulmates, boys being stupid, communication is key, it can never be easy for those two now can it, iwaoi - Freeform, red string au, this is NOT a rapunzel retelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-10 03:21:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20521109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StreetSoldierin/pseuds/StreetSoldierin
Summary: “I don’t want a soulmate.” Oikawa was known for making random statements, and through the many years of their friendship Iwaizumi had grown used to it, but still this one surprised him.Oikawa Tooru is being extra and Iwaizumi Hajime is a clueless idiot. It seems like fate wanted a challenge.





	Tangled

**Author's Note:**

> Hello beautiful people!
> 
> Without beating around the bush: I really am not a fan of soulmate AUs, so writing this has been quite the challenge (like, literally, I wrote it because of a writing challenge).  
But I'm quite satisfied with the result, so I hope you guys are too.
> 
> **Beta read by blue_tree96**. Thank you so much again!

“I don’t want a soulmate.” Oikawa was known for making random statements, and through the many years of their friendship Iwaizumi had grown used to it, but still this one surprised him. 

They were lying on Oikawa’s bedroom floor and the books they were supposed to study with were strewn everywhere. Due to Oikawa’s minimalistic attention span, they usually managed to study up to one hour before he became fed up and initiated a break, mostly by striking up a random conversation and holding it as long as he could before Iwaizumi forced him to go back to studying. 

Still, this topic was rather unusual for Oikawa. He hadn’t ever mentioned it again since his parents had explained the concept of soulmates and the red string of fate to them, and so Iwaizumi gave up on the text he was reading for English class and turned to lie on his side.  
“What do you mean, you don’t want one?” 

Oikawa shrugged and fiddled with his pen. “I just don’t get the point of it. Isn’t it kind of like an arranged marriage? What if I fall in love with someone else, and then the red string appears but doesn’t lead to them?”  
“Then you weren’t meant to be with them in the first place, I suppose.”  
“Tch.” Oikawa glared at the pen. “I’d rather decide that for myself.”  
“Well, then do that. Fate only shows you your soulmate, that doesn’t mean you have to marry them.”  
“I don’t know anyone who rejected their soulmate.”  
“Me neither. But I also never heard anyone say they don’t want one.”  
“But come on, is that so unreasonable? Let’s say both of us got together, and it’s going well, but then that string appears and leads to someone else. Does that mean the relationship will eventually fail, anyways? How can fate know that?” 

Iwaizumi turned to his book again, ignoring that his heart was beating way too hard in his chest. “I don’t know, Shittykawa, and I don’t really care either. Let’s get back to studying.”  
“But...”  
“Seriously, not all of us can get good grades by just skimming the material. Let me work.” 

Oikawa mumbled something under his breath, but gave in and turned to his own book again. The silence didn’t last very long though. “Iwa-chan?”  
Iwaizumi groaned. “What?”  
“Promise me you’ll tell me right away when your string appears?”  
“We see each other all the time. You’ll probably see it happening anyways.”  
But Oikawa didn’t seem satisfied with that. “Not if it happens when you’re sleeping.”  
“Right.”  
“Or you’re sick at home.”  
“Mhm.”  
“Or I’m sick at-”  
“Okay, jeez, stop it! If it happens and you’re not there, I’ll give you a call, alright?”  
“Promise?”  
“Promise, and now let me study already!”  
Humming contentedly, Oikawa finally turned back to his book, but Iwaizumi’s heart was still drumming in his ribcage as he tried to concentrate on his own text. He had learned to ignore that feeling though. Right now, he had an English exam to pass and no red strings to worry about. 

~~~~~~~ 

It was almost a year after that conversation when Iwaizumi’s string appeared. He was on his way home from an exam that he had had to take again after failing the last one, and he didn’t even notice the string until it suddenly yanked on his wrist.  
“What the fuck?” He eyed the string in surprise, and tried to pull his wrist towards him, but it didn’t work, the string was bow-taut and wouldn’t let him move any further. Which wasn’t normal, that much he knew.  
There was only one way to find out what was going on, so Iwaizumi started walking back in the direction he had come from, following it. 

The whole situation got even weirder when he realized this was his usual route to school. He passed the gate, crossed the schoolyard, and finally ended up in front of the gym.  
As he came closer though, he realized that the string was leading through the doors, and out of it again. Meaning his soulmate wasn’t here, but in the opposite direction.  
But why would the string run through the gym instead of directly to his soulmate? He pushed the gym doors open and entered. 

“Holy crap.”  
It was a whole damn mess. The string on his wrist didn’t end at another person’s wrist here, no, it led to the volleyball net where it was all tangled up. The other end led out of the gym doors again.  
“What the fuck?” Iwaizumi stepped closer and inspected the mess. As he tried to untangle it though, it didn’t even budge. 

Iwaizumi knew what this meant, of course he did. When Oikawa’s parents had explained the concept of the red string to the two of them, they had told them about this phenomenon too.  
Tangled strings.  
When the string manifested and one person actively tried to run from it, it sometimes got tangled in objects. Like that, the other person got stuck halfway and wouldn’t be able to follow until the other one wanted them to.  
So, whoever Iwaizumi’s soulmate was had made a run for it, and Iwaizumi was stuck until they decided to come back. Fantastic. 

Cursing, Iwaizumi pulled out his cellphone and selected Oikawa’s number. He picked up on the first ring.  
“Iwa-chaaan! How was your exam? I hope you didn’t forget everything I explained again.”  
Iwaizumi just ignored the rambling, though he did notice Oikawa had an unusual amount of fake cheeriness in his voice. Normally, that only happened in public and never when it was just the two of them.  
Iwaizumi hated the act Oikawa put up around other people, but he knew it was Oikawa’s way of dealing with his anxiety, and it was what got him through the days in the end, so he never said anything unless they were alone and Oikawa still wouldn’t drop the act. Because if he didn’t do so even when they were alone, that usually meant something was up.  
Right now, though, Iwaizumi had other things to worry about. 

“I need you to come to the gym.”  
“What? I thought you were heading back home?”  
“I was, but something happened. Will you just hurry?”  
There was rustling in the background. “Sure. You wanna tell me what’s up?”  
“You’ll see,” he replied and hung up. There was no way he could explain this mess over the phone. 

Why the hell had his soulmate run away? The red string didn’t mean they had to hit it off instantly, but Iwaizumi would at least like to know who was connected to him. 

After about fifteen minutes, his cellphone rang again and Oikawa’s picture glowed at him from the screen. “What is it?”  
“Um... I kind of can’t come to the gym.”  
Iwaizumi cursed. “Why the hell not? Where are you?”  
“In front of it...?”  
“Then move your ass in here! This is an emergency; I fucking need your help!” Without another word, Iwaizumi hung up again. 

The doors creaked and opened just a little, and Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. “Oi, Shittykawa, if you stall any longer, I will never buy you milk bread again!”  
At that, the door opened and Oikawa entered. Iwaizumi sighed and opened his mouth to say something else, but the sound died in his throat as he saw Oikawa’s expression. The other was looking at him with wide eyes and walking towards him only hesitantly.  
He was about to ask what the matter was when he saw it.  
The red string on Oikawa’s wrist.  
The red string leading to the exact same mess in the volleyball net that Iwaizumi’s string led to. 

“What the fuck.” It only came out as a whisper. Oikawa halted, looking unsure of what to do. “It’s you,” he said quietly.  
The words Oikawa had spoken almost a year ago rang in Iwaizumi’s mind. I don’t want a soulmate. Of course he would run. Of course he would try to get out of this. He hadn’t wanted to enter the gym because he had seen his string leading into it.  
There was a hurtful pang in Iwaizumi’s chest, but he ignored it. He had gotten so used to ignoring it that it wasn’t even difficult anymore. It still hurt the same though.  
Lowering his gaze to the floor he said, “We can cut it then.”  
Oikawa made a noise that sounded a little choked. “Iwa-chan...”  
“Don’t. Just do it.” He didn’t want to be comforted. He didn’t want Oikawa to explain. It was painful enough as it was. 

When fate led two people together, the string usually disappeared with the first kiss. But if there was no kiss, the string could be cut.  
It wouldn’t make the bond disappear though. Nothing in this world could make that happen.  
But of course, out of all the people in the world, Iwaizumi would get the one he couldn’t have.  
I don’t want a soulmate. 

When thinking about soulmates, Iwaizumi had always half hoped and half dreaded the idea of Oikawa being his. 

Because as much as he wanted it to be true, as much as he wanted fate to prove that his feelings were justified, he also knew that Oikawa wouldn’t feel the same. So Iwaizumi had thought that maybe there was someone else out there for him, someone he could be with. 

Apparently, fate said otherwise. But Oikawa had made it clear back than that he would defy it, and that was that. 

“Are you sure?” Oikawa asked in a small voice.  
Iwaizumi just nodded. What else could they do? He wouldn’t force Oikawa to kiss him, wouldn’t force him into anything that he didn’t want. “Do it.” 

It was dead silent for a few minutes and then came the sound of something ripping. Iwaizumi looked down on his wrist and saw the red string quietly fading into nothing. He felt so numb that it didn’t even hurt. He stayed like this for some time, just staring at his wrist, and when he looked up again, Oikawa was gone. 

It was probably better like this. Seeing him right now would only hurt more. 

Iwaizumi inhaled a shaky breath, and then took his school bag. He should go home, though he didn’t know what he would do then. Usually Oikawa and he spent the afternoon together. It had always been like this, but now he didn’t even know if they could ever go back to that.  
Maybe fate had just cost him his best friend. 

The thought hurt so much that he couldn’t bear to think about it any longer. Instead, he started walking, feeling more lost than ever before.  
When he exited the gym though, he heard sobbing. And he knew that voice well enough to know who it was coming from. 

Part of him wanted to leave it, but it was ingrained in Iwaizumi’s whole being that he couldn’t just abandon Oikawa when he was crying, so he walked towards the sound.  
Even though each step hurt, even though Oikawa probably didn’t want to see him, even though he had no comfort to offer this time. 

Oikawa was sitting in the grass a little away from the gym. He had his knees pulled up and his head was buried underneath his arms.  
“Hey.” Iwaizumi crouched down, unsure of what to say.  
“Go away,” Oikawa sobbed.  
Sighing, Iwaizumi sat down next to him. “I know you didn’t want this, but that doesn’t mean I’ll abandon you here. You do stupid things when you cry.”  
“No!” Oikawa said louder and lifted his head. There were tears running down his face, and his eyes were blazing. “You can’t break my heart and then act as if it didn’t happen! You can’t comfort me, okay? Just leave me alone!” 

Iwaizumi halted. “What?”  
“You heard me.”  
“What do you mean, I broke your heart?” Was Oikawa delusional?  
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe that when you found out we were soulmates you just told me to cut the string without even looking at me? Maybe you remember, it happened like two fucking seconds ago!” 

Anger flared up in Iwaizumi’s chest. Oikawa had no right to be hurt by this, not one bit.  
“What the fuck do you want from me Oikawa, that I’m happy about the fact that my soulmate is the one person that doesn’t want that bond with me? Are you angry I didn’t assure you that it’s okay and that it won’t change things?” 

The angry glare Oikawa had directed at him shifted somehow. He looked more confused now. “When did I ever say I didn’t want that bond? You were the one that told me to cut the string!” 

Iwaizumi furrowed his brows. “You said you didn’t want a soulmate and when you saw that your string led into the gym where I was, you didn’t want to come in.” 

Oikawa’s eyes welled up, and now he was crying again. “Iwa-chan...” His voice broke. “Iwa-chan, you idiot.”  
Now it was Iwaizumi who was confused. “What are you talking about?”  
Oikawa kept crying and reached out to grab Iwaizumi’s wrist. “I said I didn’t want a soulmate,” he sobbed, “because I didn’t want anyone that wasn’t you.” 

“What?” Iwaizumi just stared at him. His mind was spinning and he wondered if he was dreaming. “But... why did you run? And why didn’t you come into the gym right away?” 

“When the string appeared, I just freaked out because I thought it led to someone else. You promised to call me if your string appeared, but there was no call from you so I thought it couldn’t be you.” 

“I didn’t notice the string until you tangled it,” Iwaizumi replied weakly. “And I did call, technically.”  
Oikawa makes a sound that is half laugh, half sob. “I didn’t know that. I thought there was someone else in the gym with you and I couldn’t stand the thought of meeting them, especially not with you around. And then I saw that it was you, but you wouldn’t even look at me and then you told me to cut it, so I thought...” 

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Iwaizumi couldn’t believe this was happening. There was an ecstatic feeling rising in his chest, but he was still too confused to fully realize it. “Shittykawa, you stupid idiot!” 

Without thinking about it, he grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back on the grass. He had wanted this for so long, and just minutes ago he had felt all his hopes being crushed, just to be resurrected again by this beautiful, beautiful man staring up at him. Iwaizumi couldn’t resist it, not with those hazel eyes staring at him so wide and shimmering with tears, so he bowed down and kissed him. 

Oikawa gasped in surprise, but his hands found their way up around Iwaizumi’s neck and pulled him closer. Joy pumped through Iwaizumi’s veins as they kept kissing, because this was exactly what he wanted, what he had wanted for years. The two of them, together, not only as friends but connected as something deeper, soulmates. Nothing had ever felt so right. 

There still were tears running down Oikawa’s face when they pulled apart, but he was smiling now. “We’re the stupidest soulmates in existence, Iwa-chan.”  
Well, he couldn’t really argue with that. “Yeah, we almost blew it. Thank god I can’t stand to see you cry.”  
“Aw, you’re cute!”  
“Shut up. You’re ugly when you cry, nobody could stand to look at that for long.”  
Oikawa pouted. “So mean!” 

But Iwaizumi didn’t continue the bickering like he usually did, instead he leaned down and kissed those soft lips once again. “I love you, Tooru.”  
He got a soft smile in return. “I love you too.” 

Maybe it had taken them more than one try to get it right. Maybe it would’ve been easier if both of them just had admitted earlier what they were feeling. Maybe they could have avoided this whole mess.  
But in the end, it came down to the same thing. 

Stupid as they may be, they belonged together.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments will definitely make my day! :)


End file.
